The woman who could be named the next leader of the CIA is a University of Louisville graduate with several ties to Kentucky.

Gina Haspel, who spent time Wednesday taking questions from Senate Intelligence Committee members during her confirmation hearing, was nominated earlier this year by President Donald Trump to take over as the next leader of the CIA. If confirmed, she would be the first woman to serve as head of the agency.

She would also be the first Bluegrass State native to lead the intelligence department since it was established in 1947. Haspel was born in Ashland to two parents who also hail from Kentucky. While she grew up overseas, as her father was in the Air Force, "Kentucky was always her home away from home," according to her biography on the CIA's website.

After graduating from high school in England, Haspel returned to the U.S. to attend college – she started at the University of Kentucky majoring in journalism before moving across the state and graduating with honors from the University of Louisville. She remains a UK basketball fan to this day, her CIA biography states.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who also hails from Kentucky and graduated from the University of Louisville, had high praise for Haspel and said he plans to vote to confirm her.

"She would bring more direct, hard-earned experience to the role of CIA director than any leader in the agency’s history," McConnell said Wednesday in a statement. "Ms. Haspel is eminently qualified, she is widely esteemed, and she is absolutely the right person at the right moment for this position."

Haspel was promoted to CIA deputy director after then-Director Mike Pompeo stepped down to take over as U.S. Secretary of State in March. She has faced criticism for her role leading a secret prison in Thailand that tortured terrorism suspects in 2002, though she said Wednesday that the CIA will not reopen its outlawed torture program if she is confirmed.